Former Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad killed in Israeli airstrike: Reports

Former Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was killed in a strike by Israeli Air Force on Saturday, according to media reports. Along with Ahmadinejad, many of his close advisers and bodyguards were also killed in the Israeli strikes. 

Reports have claimed that the bodyguards, who were part of Ahmadinejad's security cover, were members of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Ahmadinejad and his team were killed after a building in which they were present in Tehran was hit by the Israeli Air Force. It must be mentioned here that Ahmadinejad's residence is located in Tehran's northeastern Narmak district.

Some videos have also gone viral on social media that showed the destruction following the Israeli strikes on Ahmadinejad's residence. Reports claimed that two pupils were also killed during the airstrikes. 

With Israel continuing to strike Iran, Islamic Republic's President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that his country will continue to "strike hard" and will destroy the military bases



of the US and Israel in the region. "The martyrdom of our leader was a culmination of years of sacrifice," he said in an address to the nation on Sunday.

So far, Iran has also hit US bases in the region, including those in Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and even in Saudi Arabia. Iran has also struck the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including its capital Abu Dhabi and the financial hub of Dubai. The strikes in the UAE have claimed three lives and left 58 people injured.

The entire Gulf has criticised Iran's action, calling for restraint. They have said that Iran's neigbhours are not its enemies. Iran, on the contrary, has said it also wants peace and that is why it is only targeting US bases in the Middle East.

Amid this, both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned Iran against escalating the situation. Netanyahu has even said that Israel would continue striking Iran, which he said is responsible for thousands of deaths in the region and left people in the Middle East in panic.